I don’t know if you’ve been living under a rock lately. I mean, I guess it’s possible, but Disney’s Moana has been making waves (pun COMPLETELY intended), especially in our house. My three year old always asks for Moana songs while we’re driving, and usually happily, I oblige.
I’m particularly drawn to Moana as a character for several reasons, and I feel like she’s a character we can all relate to, particularly in the church. Now if you are not keen on spoilers and you haven’t seen it, this is your only warning. I’ll be talking major plot points now. It’s ok. I won’t judge. But I may make you sit down and watch it with my very imaginative daughter and very loquacious 14 month old son. You’re welcome.
For all intents and purposes, when Moana leaves the island, it isn’t out of a spirit of disrespect. She even says that she’ll lead the way with her people to guide her. Even though she feels the sea is calling to her, she stays behind because she wants to be the leader her island nation needs, but as time goes on, the call is strong. Very strong. Her grandmother, in all her wisdom and kookiness, admonishes her:
You are your father’s daughter Stubbornness and pride Mind what he says but remember You may hear a voice inside And if the voice starts to whisper To follow the farthest star Moana, that voice inside is Who you are
While there is a bunch of spiritualism and stuff that I don’t particularly adhere to as a follower of Christ, and I should warn readers that sometimes “listening to the voice inside” is not very good advice, I also believe the Holy Spirit communicates in a way that makes it undeniable that it comes from God, and I think that’s, in a more naturalistic way, what the grandmother refers to when she talks about the “voice inside.”
I think if the island of Motonui hadn’t been infected by Te Ka’s raging plague of death (very technical, i know), Moana would have been content to stay on the island. She had resigned herself to being a ruler and ignoring the call of the ocean until it was too much for the island. She left because somehow she knew that by leaving, she could save those she loved. Sometimes, God asks us out of our comfort zones, much like Moana was forced out, to bring healing to his people. And it’s rarely, if ever, easy, but it’s right. Moana has a knack for looking beyond the physical appearance and seeing what’s inside, much like Samuel says of David when he’s annointed. “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Oh that we could all look beyond the physical and into the heart of man!
I challenge you, dear readers, aside from watching Moana, if you haven’t yet, to think of three people that you’ve judged solely on external things and try to know their heart. Some will resist, but remember, they have been made in God’s image as well (Genesis 1:27) and no one is beyond God’s grasp. Perhaps you’ll find a treasure in the midst of chaos or a person longing to be free. Love unconditionally, as God has love you.
In Him, -Karen
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